Perennial Foxglove?????

I planted out 6 of the new Tompson & Morgan Pink Illumination Foxgloves last year. Despite it being a fairly mild winter they all look as dead as the proverbial dodo. I have contacted T&M but haven't had a reply. I would be interested to hear if anyone else has had the same result. Thanks

Hi pete, I've seen a lot of unlikely plants advertised as hardy over the years. If you live in a very mild part of the country, maybe. But here in East Anglia, they aren't. and East anglia isn't the coldest part of the country

i grow foxgloves every year... now i cannot comment on the type you purchased as i grow mine from the seeds of the previous years flowers.. mine put on only green growth in the first year, only a few inches off the ground, then stay like that even over the coldest of winters, then in the second year they grow really tall and flower then die... mine have never come back after the 2nd year, but i have been told that this is due the fact that i let them go to seed. i'm told that if you have a very slim chance of a 3rd years growth if you cut them back hard after flowering and before they go to seed... although in my local garden center i notice that foxgloves are all labled as bienneial...

Digitalis purpurea is a hardy biennial mentalmellor. These are the standard, 'grow in the wild' foxgloves. These have been crossed with something not hardy at all to produce a theoretically hardy perennial.

I have 3 left to plant out - I think I will put them in a large pot and move to the greenhouse for winter. Those in the garden will have to be dug up when the weather gets cold and overwintered in the greenhouse too. I will let you know what T&M say. Thanks for the replies - please keep them coming

Buy real plants from real nurseries break. The nursery owner will know what he's grown and whether it's hardy or not. As well as where it will grow. Our local GC's have rows of ericaceous plants, we're miles from anywhere they'd grow. A proper nursery wouldn't be doing that.

I had trouble with T & M a few years back. They supplied echinacea plugs that were much smaller than expected.

I complained....just a defensive attitude from T & M. I complained again, more forcibly....."plants not fit for purpose"....and got full refund.

To successfully complain you need to be persistent, to contact manager, to stand your ground and DEMAND a full refund. Believe me it works. I complain about everything that fails to be up to expectation and never lose.